Two vehicles collided head-on and burst into flames on a two-lane highway in rural eastern Kansas, killing eight people, including two high school students, a former teacher-coach, and a school employee from Oklahoma, authorities said Monday. The crash occurred at about 5:45pm local time on Sunday on US 169 outside of the small town of Greeley, about 60 miles southwest of Kansas City, Missouri, the Kansas Highway Patrol said. One person escaped from one of the wrecked vehicles and was hospitalized, per the AP.
Three of those killed were connected with Tulsa Public Schools, the school district confirmed Monday. Booker T. Washington High School student Donald "DJ" Laster died in the crash, along with former Carver Middle School coach and teacher Wayne Walls and Ja'mon Gilstrap, a member of Tulsa Public Schools' transportation team. Kyrin Schumpert, a ninth grade student from Union High School Freshman Academy in Tulsa, also died in the crash, per a Union Public Schools spokesperson.
The accident closed a section of the highway for four hours, and KHP Trooper Jodi Clary said authorities were still working at the crash site on Monday evening. The cause of the crash remained under investigation. "Both cars burned up," Clary said. In a statement, Dr. Ebony Johnson, superintendent of Tulsa Public Schools, said, "I am heartbroken for those who lost loved ones, and committed to honoring the immense collective impact each of these people had in Tulsa and in the lives of our young people."
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Ron Horton, a teacher at Booker T. Washington, said in a video sent by Tulsa Public Schools that Laster was "something special." He noted that the boy was a quintessential student-athlete who worked as hard at academics as he did at sports during the busy varsity basketball season. "He stood out for his friendliness and just the way he made kids feel at ease," Horton said. "They just felt so comfortable around DJ. He was always smiling." Horton added that Laster was one of only two freshmen to make the varsity basketball team and that Laster worked hard to keep up. "It's just a shock ... that he's gone," Horton said.
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